Age of Religious Freedom

Through a historical process, the age of religious persecution ended, ushering in an age of religious freedom worldwide. Believers must avail of this for dawah work.

The Prophet of Islam began his mission in 610 A.D. in Makkah. This was an age of religious persecution. In those times, those who accepted his message were persecuted. They were subjected to physical torture.

At that time, some believers complained to the Prophet of Islam: “O Prophet, pray to God to put an end to circumstances which are so difficult for us.” At that time, the Prophet of Islam was seated beside the wall of the Kabah. On hearing this, he sat down and said, “Earlier, that is, in previous times, a believer was subjected to an iron comb being combed on his body, and his head was cut with a saw to give him extreme pain, but despite the persecution of such an extreme nature, he stuck to his faith.” Then the Prophet said: “By God, this matter (Islam) will certainly reach its completion, and finally, the state of affairs will be so changed for the better that a rider may go from Sanaa (Yaman) to Hadhr Maut (Southern end of the Arabian Peninsula) with nothing to fear except the Lord.” (Sahih Al Bukhari, Hadith No. 3612)

This Hadith does not just tell us about a past event; it is instead about the future. This Hadith tells us that after the advent of Prophet Muhammad, the revolution that was brought about would set in motion a process in history that would finally end religious persecution worldwide. Then an age of religious freedom would dawn in the world.

In the 21st century, this prophetic prediction has become a reality to the final extent. Now the need of the hour is that the dayees of today should discover this present reality and then, by using modern communications, must plan dawah work accordingly.